SCENE III. Enter COSROE, TAMBURLAINE, THERIDAMAS, TECHELLES, USUMCASANE, and ORTYGIUS, with others. Cos. Now, worthy Tamburlaine, have I repos'd In thy approved fortunes all my hope. What think'st thou, man, shall come of our attempts! For, even as from assured oracle, I take thy doom for satisfaction. Tamb. And so mistake you not a whit, my lord; For fates and oracles [of] heaven have sworn To royalize the deeds of Tamburlaine, And make them blest that share in his attempts: And doubt you not but, if you favour me, And let my fortunes and my valour sway To some direction in your martial deeds, That stand and muse at our admirèd arms. Ther. You see, my lord, what working words But, when you see his actions top + his speech, Tech. With duty and ¶ with amity we yield Our utmost service to the fair ** Cosroe. Cos. Which I esteem as portion of my crown. Usumcasane and Techelles both, And makes a passage for all prosperous arms, Tamb. Then haste, Cosroe, to be king alone, Mes. My lord, Enter a Messenger. We have discovered the enemy Ready to charge you with a mighty army. Cos. Come, Tamburlaine; now whet thy winged sword, And lift thy lofty arm into + the clouds, Tamb. See where it is, the keenest curtle axe That e'er made passage thorough Persian arms! Cos. Thy words assure me of kind success: Tamb. Usumcasane and Techelles, come: SCENE IV. Enter MYCETES with his crown in his hand.§ Myc. Accurs'd be he that first invented war! They knew not, ah, they knew not, simple men, How those were || hit by pelting cannon-shot When she++ that rules in Rhamnus' ‡‡ golden Stand staggering ¶ like a quivering aspen-leaf gates, ⚫ some] So the 4to.-The 8vo "scorne." + will] So the 8vo.-The 4to "shall." t top] i. e. rise above, surpass.-Old eds. "stop." renowmed] See note 1, p. 11. So the 8vo.-The 4to "renowned." thirst] The 8vo "thrust" the 4to "thrist." Tand] So the 4to.-The 8vo "not." **the fair] So the 8vo. -The 4to "thee faire." tt she i. e. Nemesis. 11 Rhamnus'] Old eds. "Rhamnis." Fearing the force of Boreas' boisterous blasts! In what a lamentable case were I, They cannot take away my crown from me. Enter TAMBURLAINE. Tamb. What, fearful coward, straggling from the camp, SCENE V. Enter COSROE, TAMBURLAINE, MENAPHON, MEANDER, ORTYGIUS, THERIDAMAS, TECHELLES, USUMOASANE, with others. Tamb. Hold thee, Cosroe; wear two imperial crowns; Think thee invested now as royally, Even by the mighty hand of Tamburlaine, When kings themselves are present in the field? | Meander, you, that were our brother's guide, Tamb. Base villain, darest thou give me + the Since he is yielded to the stroke of war, lie? Myc. Away! I am the king; go; touch me not. Thou break'st the law of arms, unless thou kneel, And cry me "mercy, noble king!" Tamb. Are you the witty king of Persia? Myc. Ay, marry,‡ am I: have you any suit to me? Tamb. I would entreat you to speak but three wise words. Myc. So I can when I see my time. Myc. Ay: didst thou ever see a fairer ? Tamb. No; I took it prisoner. Myc. No; I mean I let you keep it. [Brit. Myc. O gods, is this Tamburlaine the thief? I marvel much he stole it not away. [Trumpets within sound to the battle: he runs out. For kings are clouts that every man shoots at, Our crown the pin, &c.] Clout means the white mark in the butts; pin, the peg in the centre, which fastened it. + me] So the 4to.-Omitted in the 8vo. Myc. Ay, marry, &c.] From this to "Tamb. Well, I mean you shall have it again" inclusive, the dialogue is prose: compare act iv. sc. 4, p. 29. On your submission we with thanks excuse, terms I vow my service to your majesty, And govern Persia in her former pomp. And grace your calling with a greater sway. Orty. And as we ever aim'd § at your behoof, Cos. I will not thank thee, sweet Ortygius; renowmed man-at-arms] See note I, p. 11. So the 8vo.-The 4to "renowned men at armes." t chiefest] So the 4to.-The 8vo "chiefe." § aim'd] So the 4to.-The 8vo "and." Then will we* march to all those Indian mines Mean. Your majesty shall shortly have your wish, And ride in triumph through Persepolis. [Exeunt all except TAMB., THER., TECH., and USUM. Tamb. And ride in triumph through Perse polis! Is it not brave to be a king, Techelles?— Is it not passing brave to be a king, And ride in triumph through Persepolis? Tech. O, my lord, it is sweet and full of pomp! Usum. To be a king is half to be a god. Ther. A god is not so glorious as a king: I think the pleasure they enjoy in heaven, Cannot compare with kingly joys in † earth;— To wear a crown enchas'd with pearl and gold, Whose virtues carry with it life and death; To ask and have, command and be obey'd; When looks breed love, with looks to gain the prize, Such power attractive shines in princes' eyes. Tamb. Why, say, Theridamas, wilt thou be a king? Ther. Nay, though I praise it, I can live without it. Tamb. What say my other friends? will you Tamb. Why, then, Theridamas, I'll first assay To get the Persian kingdom to myself; Then thou for Parthia; they for Scythia and Media; And, if I prosper, all shall be as sure As if the Turk, the Pope, Afric, and Greece, Came creeping to us with their crowns a-piece.* Tech. Then shall we send to this triumphing king, And bid him battle for his novel crown? Usum. Nay, quickly, then, before his room be hot. Tamb. "Twill prove a pretty jest, in faith, my friends. Ther. A jest to charge on twenty thousand men! I judge the purchase + more important far. And lose more labour than the gain will quite :+ Mean. Some powers divine, or else infernal, mix'd Their angry seeds at his conception; . For he was never sprung of human race, Even at the morning of my happy state, Who, entering at the breach thy sword hath Orty. What god, or fiend, or spirit of the earth, Sacks every vein and artier* of my heart.— Or monster turned to a manly shape, Or of what mould or mettle he be made, Be arm'd against the hate of such a foe, Bloody and insatiate Tamburlaine ! Tamb. The thirst of reign and sweetness of a crown, That caus'd the eldest son of heavenly Ops Cos. Nobly resolv'd, my good Ortygius; Doth teach us all to have aspiring minds: SCENE VII. [make Alarms of battle within. Then enter COSROE wounded, TAMBURLAINE, THERIDAMAS, TECHELLES, USUI CASANE, with others. Cos. Barbarous and bloody Tamburlaine, Thus to deprive me of my crown and life!— Treacherous and false Theridamas, sprung] See note 1, p. 14. dares] So the 8vo.-The 4to "dare." fate] Old eds. "state." our § Resolve] Seems to mean-dissolve (compare bodies turn to elements," p. 12, sec. col.): but I suspect some corruption here. Barbarous] Qy. “O barbarous"? in the next line but one, "O treacherous"? and in the last line of the speech, "O bloody"? But we occasionally find in our early dramatists lines which are defective in the first syllable; and in some of these instances at least it would almost seem that nothing has been omitted by the transcriber or printer. Ther. And that made me to join with Tambur- For he is gross and like the massy earth Tech. And that made us, the friends of Tam- To lift our swords against the Persian king. Usum. For as, when Jove did thrust old Saturn down, Neptune and Dis gain'd each of them a crown, *artier] i. e. artery. This form occurs again in the Sec. Part of the present play: so too in a copy of verses by Day; "Hid in the vaines and artiers of the earthe." Shakespeare Soc. Papers, vol. i. 19. The word indeed was variously written of old: "The arter strynge is the conduyt of the lyfe spiryte" Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. G iii. ed. 1530. "Riche treasures serue for th'urters of the war." ↑ regiment] i. e. rule. So do we hope to reign in Asia, Cos. The strangest men that ever nature made! And with my blood my life slides through my wound; My soul begins to take her flight to hell, The heat and moisture, which did feed each other, SCENE I. ACT III. Bnter BAJAZETH, the KINGS OF FEZ, MOROCCO, and ARGIER, with others, in great pomp. As hath the ocean or the Terrene † sea Small drops of water when the moon begins To join in one her semicircled horns : Baj. Great kings of Barbary, and my portly Yet would we not be brav'd with foreign power, Nor raise our siege before the Grecians yield, K. of Fez. Renowmèd ‡ emperor and mighty general, What, if you sent the bassoes of your guard Or else to threaten death and deadly arms Baj. Hie thee, my basso, § fast to Persia; |